LOCAL

ANOTHER SLOW START DOOMS LU WOMEN

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — For the second time in as many road games, a strong second-half comeback effort by the Lamar Cardinals was not enough to overcome a halftime deficit, as LU dropped a 75-63 decision to host Northern Arizona in a nonconference women’s basketball game Sunday afternoon.

The Cardinals (1-3), who fell to Utah by four points after trailing by as many as 32 points, trailed by 24 points on Sunday before battling back, outscoring the host Lumberjacks 22-14 in the final period.

LU had four players score in double figures, led by JaMeisha Edwards with 16 points, but the Lumberjacks (1-2) used their size advantage to outrebound the Cardinals 49-29 and to outscore LU 42-20 in the paint.

Northern Arizona had two players post double-doubles on the day. Center Alyssa Rader had 16 points and 10 rebounds, while guard Brittany Lusain finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Northern Arizona’s Rene Coggins led all scorers with 19 points.

LU trailed 31-19 after one quarter and 49-29 at intermission.

STATE

HOYER TO START SUNDAY VS. SAINTS

HOUSTON (AP) — Brian Hoyer is done with the team’s concussion protocol and will start for the Houston Texans on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.

Hoyer was injured early in the third quarter on Nov. 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals and sat out on Sunday against the New York Jets.

T.J. Yates took over when Hoyer was hurt against the Bengals and threw the game-winning touchdown in a 10-6 victory. He had two touchdown passes on Sunday to help the Texans to a 24-17 win over the Jets, giving the team three wins in a row for the first time since 2012.

The Texans (5-5) are tied with the Indianapolis Colts for first place in the AFC South.

3 DOORS DOWN TO PERFORM AT A&M-LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Rock band 3 Doors Down is scheduled to perform with LSU’s Tiger Band during halftime of the football game against Texas A&M in Tiger Stadium on Saturday.

NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune reports Monday’s announcement, in a news release, comes after the LSU Athletic Department announced and canceled two other, similar performances. Those would have featured the pop band OneRepublic and pop/hip-hop performer Aloe Blacc.

The special halftime performance features 3 Doors Down performing with Tiger Band for 11 minutes and will highlight the band’s song “Citizen Soldier” and feature a special presentation for Wounded Warriors.

3 Doors Down guitarist Chris Henderson, a self-described LSU fan who grew up about 80 miles from the school, said in the release that the performance is the “most anticipated moment in my entire life.”

NATIONAL

ROBERTS HIRED AS DODGERS’ MANAGER

LOS ANGELES — With his hiring as manager Monday, Dave Roberts made history within the Los Angeles Dodgers’ organization.

Roberts, whose father is African-American and mother is Japanese-American, became the first minority manager in the major-league team’s long, storied history. He was most recently the bench coach for the San Diego Padres, who hired Andy Green as manager recently.

Roberts, 43, replaces new Miami Marlins skipper Don Mattingly.

“It’s hard for me to put into words what it means to be named manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers,” Roberts told MLB.com. “This is truly the opportunity of a lifetime. The Dodgers are the ground-breaking franchise of Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Sandy Koufax, Maury Wills, Fernando Valenzuela and Hideo Nomo. When I put on this uniform as a player, I understood the special responsibility to honor those that played before me as well as the amazing bond between the Dodgers and their fans. I feel that I have now come full circle in my career and there is plenty of unfinished business left in L.A.”